They need to show flashbacks and make sure that you use history as a part of their story right off the bat and for a good amount of time. Plus, they need to build up to the return. Mention Carly, Vivian, etc here or there. Put the names out there. Hope's return in 1994 was a good example of this. The good news is Tomlin seems to appreciate JER's style so, hopefully, he will take another page from JER here and execute the returns right so those who don't know them will become interested in them.

I hate when they do that. Like when Shawn, Mimi and Brady all of the sudden started to talk about Jan Spears, and what do you know, Jan shows up outside of the Pub. It just feels so forced.